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Text As dusk began to fall, Twilight Sparkle sat quietly with Scrivener Blooms and Luna in the library, comfortable in the silence even as their eyes lingered over one-another affectionately. The day had been long, but now they had a moment of respite after a long discussion with the others… which Scarlet Sage had sat through most of herself, the filly quiet but Luna giving her the choice to leave or stay despite the subjects at hand after a long, solemn explanation of what exactly Scarlet Sage's special talent was, and what her emblem represented. And now, everyone had headed out to their work around Ponyville: Applejack and Big Mac were finishing work and repairs around the farm, Rainbow Dash was out on patrol of the perimeter, Rarity was back at work on the last of the equipment for the Starlit Knights and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy and Scarlet Sage were helping collect supplies and food for the journey that still waited ahead. After all, there was still Canterlot to travel to… and North Neigh beyond. In the drawn-out battle against Sol Seraph, they had all almost forgotten why the Starlit Knights had been formed in the first place… and Twilight Sparkle glanced up quietly, studying Scrivener Blooms as he looked back at her with a bit of a smile before the unicorn said softly: "I really admire that you're pushing through with this, despite everything, Scrivy. I know you don't talk about it much but… well, from the way Luna gets…" "Aye, my daydreamer is a better pony than I to want to do this. I still say we should let the fools rot." Luna grumbled, but when the others gave her an amused look, she huffed a little and pawed absently at the floor with her front hooves. "Alright, alright, perchance… I understand we must put our own selfishness aside for what is to come, but all the same… I like it very little. I have become too accustomed, perhaps, to Ponyville's accepting ways over the poisons that the rest of the country seems so content to stew in." "Oh, Luna, you and I both know it's not always that bad." Twilight said reasonably, but Luna only grumbled in response and looked at her moodily, making the unicorn roll her eyes before she continued: "You know, back in Canterlot-" "Thou wert a unicorn that spent most of her time inside the safe walls of the magic academy, apprenticing beneath Celestia, well-versed even from a young age in the arcane arts." Luna interrupted, and Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat awkwardly as the winged unicorn leaned forwards with an amused look. "Saying that thy experiences were not all bad is like saying all the buildings in a city are the same, from the palatial manses to the tar-paper shacks." "And I wonder which building I am in that metaphor." Scrivener said mildly, before he grunted when Luna absently smacked him with a hoof. "I swear you're a masochist sometimes, Luna, really." "Far less of one than thee, with how often thou speaks knowing it shall only result in thee being pummeled." Luna replied dryly, glancing towards him pointedly, and the earth pony shrugged meditatively before the winged unicorn returned her eyes to Twilight Sparkle with a bit of a smile as the violet equine studied them softly. "Besides, why must pain be such an awful thing? 'Tis a reminder that thou still lives." Scrivener smiled despite himself at this thought, then they both looked towards Twilight Sparkle as she said softly: "I really like the way things have turned out." Scrivy cocked his head curiously as Luna looked at the female with interest, and the violet unicorn blushed a bit as she glanced awkwardly down for a moment before gazing up, saying quietly: "Despite everything… despite the way you've been treated, and what happened with Celestia, and… all the ideas of society and normalcy and good and evil and right and wrong and… what I thought… my destiny once was… I don't miss the world I've come from anymore. I think about that a lot, and I wonder if that's wrong or not… and… yet… I don't care whether it is or not now. I wouldn't want to change this back… because you're right. Pain isn't awful. Mental, physical, emotional… if we survive it, it can make us stronger, it can teach us so much more than I ever learned while I was happily standing around… everything I've ever learned has come from conflict, small or large. In peace, in joy… it was all just static and plain. "I've learned that… too much happiness is like anesthesia. It makes you placid, it makes you numb… and you end up forgetting you should try hard at everything you do. You forget there's other ponies in the world apart from everypony inside your own little cone of being … and after so long, when something awful does happen, you don't… you don't deal with it properly." Twilight halted, looking down quietly and nodding slowly to herself. "And then, instead, you end up blindly following the orders of whoever's in charge to fix it, and that… doesn't always turn out very well. "I've seen now, that ponies react with anger and cruelty towards things they don't understand… that they don't want to understand. And I know that I used to be just like them, trying to 'fix' problems that weren't really problems, not trying to simply show a little understanding, a little compassion… but my experiences with my friends opened my eyes. The research I did into their… difficulties, but even more than that, just… being there for them when they were scared, refusing to turn them away, holding their hooves instead of rejecting them…" She stopped and shook her head slowly. "I only feel so fortunate that everyone was willing to work together, and that… Ponyville is so understanding." She paused for a few moments, looking thoughtfully down at the floor, and then she gazed back up and smiled softly from Scrivener to Luna. "And don't think I'm going to forget what you two have done for me, before and after… what happened with Celestia. That, too, opened my eyes, and please don't take this the wrong way but… I'm glad it did. I hate… I hate to think what would have happened if… I hadn't seen what I did. If I hadn't known…" Twilight paused, then laughed a little, smiling wider when Luna and Scrivener Blooms only gazed at her with warmth. "Imagine! I might have decided to try and chase you down… I might have tried to even bring the others together, Elements of Harmony or not, to fight Nightmare Moon and try and get her to once more give in to the magic of friendship. I don't think we would have ended up here… the only reason I ever started… following more of your lifestyle, Luna, is because I was childishly rebelling against everything Celestia had taught me, after all. I'm… I'm only glad that you and Scrivy… you've been so kind to me… "Anypony else, I know, would have been tempted to… take advantage or control, would have… well, I just don't see it ending well in most other cases." Twilight smiled a little, eyes roving silently to the winged unicorn. "But for all you… make fun of her, talk about how evil she is, grumble about her blowing things up… I know you love Celestia. And you always… you helped me see that she made a mistake. An awful, terrible mistake, but one that I couldn't hold against her forever, hard as it's been for me to move on, to let go. "But you helped. You introduced me to a lot of things, you and Scrivy both. You made me do stuff I'd never thought I'd do and you both can be real jerks but… I don't want to lose that." Twilight stopped, looking quietly at Luna and saying softly: "I just… I want you two to know, I'm always going to be there for you both. Luna, you're something to me… Celestia never was, and never could have been. I have a lot of friends now, and a circle of very good, very close friends… but I want you to know, Luna, that you're… special. But don't worry, Scrivy, I still don't like you all that much most of the time." "Good, I'd have it no other way." Scrivener Blooms replied with a slight smile, and he and the unicorn laughed as the dark sapphire, winged unicorn blushed but gave her own radiant look to the violet pony, seeming honored beyond words before Scrivy nudged her gently. "Luna says thank you, too." Twilight smiled awkwardly, eyes meeting the winged unicorn's for a moment before she nodded a little to her, and Luna nodded slowly back before she murmured: "Thou thinks far too grandly of me, Twilight Sparkle… for thou art a treasure to me, almost as special as Scrivener Blooms, and know that if I had the strength to share, that I did not suspect Celestia of her own designs… I would gladly spread my vitality to thee as well, even if it meant halving my own life again." She stopped, then smiled amusedly over at Scrivy as he nudged her playfully, saying mildly: "Well, I'm glad you're still ready to make decisions that now affect both our lives, dear, as always. But… I do suppose it's much better to live one life, in the company of friends… than it is to live for eternity alone." "And for once, the poet speaks wisdom." Luna said softly, gazing at him lovingly, and Scrivener laughed and shook his head slowly before she smiled again even as she cleared her throat and became a little more businesslike, asking kindly: "Does thou have a schedule in mind, young Twilight, for our journey to Canterlot?" "A little. In her letters to me, Celestia still sounds very eager for us to visit… she says she needs a few more days, thanks to some meddling in the Royal Courts, but also urges us not to rush on her account. Still, I'd like to get this over and done with… and with Ponyville under additional protection from the minotaurs, I don't feel nearly as worried as before over leaving with the Starlit Knights." Twilight replied quietly, nodding slowly. "The damage that… Sol Seraph did is still here, and her… mechanical guns are still in place, but we have all her papers and information on them. They're all being disabled and shut down by Kilby Kwolek and her team of mechanics… I think she's actually one of the Starlit Knights, too." "Good, I remember her. Cowlick." Luna smiled slightly, and Scrivener laughed a bit at the nickname Luna had fondly attached to the slightly-crazy mare engineer. "'Tis most reassuring to know that we shall have the accompaniment of such talented ponies." Twilight smiled a little, saying quietly: "Well, I'm glad to know you approve, Luna… and I'm sure she's excited to be part of the team. Rainbow Dash is certainly glad to have her on board… they've been good friends for a while now." The two nodded, and then Luna said thoughtfully: "Truly, though, it sounds as if Celestia has done well in picking the candidates for these Starlit Knights… and while I am glad for it, mistake me not, I also have to wonder how close an eye she must keep upon myself and Scrivener Blooms even in times like these from her scrying mirror." She paused, then peered up at the ceiling meditatively. "Celestia, thou art a sick-minded voyeur. I bet thou art watching right now, aren't thou, hoping to see some horrible scene of debauchery… well, I shan't give you that until later tonight, so focus thy gaze elsewhere." Then she paused and looked placidly across at Twilight as she apprehensively looked upwards, Scrivy only smiled amusedly before Luna said amusedly: "Worry not, Twilight Sparkle, 'twas only a joke." She paused, then added cheerfully: "Although, knowing Celestia, she probably does use her scrying glass to peer down on ponies at most inopportune moments. Not that I would do any different, had I such artifacts, but at least I would be more honest about it, if only to see the looks upon the faces of ponies as I detail their embarrassing intimate encounters back to them…" "Luna, behave now." Scrivener Blooms said mildly, as Twilight blushed a little and leaned awkwardly back, and Luna grumbled under her breath at the male before he leaned over and kissed her cheek gently. "Besides, you get bored too easily to manage any of that. And I thought if you really wanted to, you could watch events in the stars." "Yes, but Celestia can actually see images, I can only divine what is going on at the time." Luna almost whined, and Scrivy rolled his eyes in amusement before the female grumbled a little. "But yes, yes, I know, husband, this is all aside the main point, and 'tis all for our benefit, I understand. Treat me not like a child, Scrivy, or I shall roundly pummel thee and then drop the moon upon thy cowardly head." Twilight sighed a little at this, lowering her head meditatively before she looked up and asked mildly, obviously trying to move back onto a more serious subject: "And what about that stuff you told the others today, and Scarlet Sage? I always thought only unicorns could do magic. And are you sure… about bringing her to Canterlot, to Celestia? You were very quick to inform her, it sounds like… and I know that usually, your favorite thing to do is to undermine Celestia in each and every way possible." "For the lighter things, perchance, and every now and then for something more serious… but this is truly grave, Twilight, and in answering this, I shall answer all thy questions and concerns for the poor filly." Luna replied quietly, softening visibly as she nodded slowly to the unicorn. "The magic of the Pegasus… it is not like our magic, Twilight. As I am sure thou art aware, there are many forms of what we call 'magic' in the world… our unicorn magic is but one and the most common. It is what allowed us to gain superiority in this nation: in texts old when I was but young, there were legends that we had been chosen for some great purpose… and sad to say, fools who believed that we, the winged unicorns, were the apex of the species." Twilight frowned a little at this, tilting her head and asking quietly: "Why is that sad, Luna? You and Celestia… you're almost unique in this world, aren't you? And you two are special… very special." She blushed a little even as she studied Luna silently, and Luna gave a small smile before she shook her head slowly and murmured: "Aye, 'twas wonderful to be loved, Twilight. But 'twas far less wonderful when the ponies looked at themselves, and began to make judgments upon their hierarchy, to use what they saw as our perfection as rationalization to further encourage the superiority already bred into unicorns, and the thought-inferiority of slave-hoofs… for in those days, they were not called earth ponies. They were named 'slave.'" Luna fell quiet as she looked towards Scrivener Blooms, who gazed back at her with soft love. "Even back then, I knew it was wrong. For our brother was no winged unicorn… he was merely a mighty earth pony. He had the blessings of preternatural strength and powers that no other earth pony possessed, aye, but he always said, from hoof to head, he was a pony of the earth. Perhaps… that is where the term even originated. And in those days, Celestia did not ever seem to care one way or another, perhaps thought it was only 'instilling order,' but I am glad to see that… if she has done one thing right, it is that she has made the mighty unicorn and the middling Pegasus bow their necks to the low earth pony, and realize they are not better nor worse. This is what I love most about Ponyville, Twilight… all here walk as equals." She smiled a little, glancing up as the unicorn blushed a little. "And 'tis what I love about thee, Twilight. Well, 'tis one of many things I adore about thee, that thou art so… pure, in this sense. I have never seen thou judge another pony based upon who they are. Always, thou hast treated all ponies as equals… when even Celestia and I are guilty of sometimes lording our power and position over others more than was ever merited." "You, lord yourself over someone else? Never." Scrivener said amiably, and then he winced when Luna smacked him lightly with her horn, making him grumble a little and shove at her before he glanced towards Twilight with an amused look, adding: "But she is right, all the same… then again, you were too busy always telling me what a genius you were and how dumb I was to bother with the whole 'unicorn superiority' deal." "I'd rather be better than you because of hard work than better than you because I'm a unicorn, anyway… which is still true, by the way, since everything you can do you steal from Luna, being soul-bound and all." Twilight smiled all the same, however, and Scrivy laughed despite himself as Luna snorted in entertainment. "Remember that poem you wrote about me?" "Oh, it wasn't about you, Sparkles, don't be so self-centered." Scrivener retorted immediately, and Twilight grumbled at the nickname even as Luna cocked her head curiously, and Scrivy glanced towards her, explaining in an amused voice: "You know me and how I tend to deal with… well… anything that irritates me. I immediately have to undermine and frustrate it, and after getting tired of dealing with the unicorns of the Royal Court constantly bothering me to do my job better when I was already doing my damn job fine enough-" "You wrote one poem a month, Scrivy, and otherwise you loitered around, being a jerk to everyone in Canterlot and bossing around anyone who was a lower rank than you in the Royal Court." Twilight interrupted, and Scrivener slowly turned towards her, giving her a flat look, and she gazed grumpily back. "Well, it's true." "Do you want quality or quantity? But in any case…" Scrivener loudly continued, half-glowering at her as Luna looked at him with entertainment. "After that, I went home, wrote up a little poem, and the next day presented it to the Royal Courts. I vaguely remember a lot of yelling and objects being thrown at me afterwards. I wasn't fired, though, so I think that counts for something." Twilight rolled her eyes as Luna looked at him thoughtfully, and Scrivy gazed back after a moment with amusement, feeling her searching through his mind, collecting scraps of memory and piecing them together, images mixing with speech and words… and then she threw her head back and laughed. "Scrivener Blooms, thou art horrible! And yet I can but envy that thou could escape my sister's wrath; all the same, perhaps we have been similar from the very start, more so than I first thought with thou insufferable whininess." Scrivy smiled a bit, then he said softly: "But that reminds me we're getting off-topic… and we'll be dealing with the Royal Court of Canterlot among even-less-pleasant things. And this time, I don't think I can just flail around and order people to listen to me anymore because I work under Celestia." "Yet Celestia, all the same, seems to want us to march into Canterlot, as invited guests." Luna shook her head after a moment as Twilight looked up as well, softening. "'Tis a puzzle that I fear she will not answer until she deigns to. Sister has always been… difficult in such matters." "And North Neigh, afterwards." the violet unicorn murmured, her eyes roving to Scrivy, but he only shrugged awkwardly. "I… haven't told the Starlit Knights yet about… you know. I mean, my friends know, but I don't hide anything from them." She paused, then looked embarrassed when both Luna and Scrivener smiled amusedly at her. "Okay, I don't hide much from them, better?" "Aye, and less from us, but still I rest assured that thou yet has a secret or two to discover." Luna replied with a slight smile, and Twilight Sparkle blushed a bit before the winged unicorn turned serious again, looking towards her husband with both tenderness and exasperation. "And thou has to learn not to think of thy past with such shame." "Yes, well, you know me, I-" Scrivener paused, glanced over at Luna as she glared at him, and then he slowly closed his mouth and cleared his throat before saying in a quieter voice: "Fine, fine. Okay, usual defenses aside, I know. I just… don't like to talk about it, though. I don't want… pity, or even sympathy. That's… in the past now, and who I am now is not the same slave-hoof they used to beat around all the time. I'm the luckiest damn earth pony in Equestria… but you know… there's always something that lingers, deep inside, when it comes to your parents. Maybe it's fear; maybe it's even worse, and it's the remnants of love, no matter how they've treated you. Maybe it's a desire to be accepted… or the anxieties that come with the worry that… even now, even after so long, even after pushing so hard to get away… you always end up going back home." He paused, brooding for a moment and muttering: "And I wonder. Brambles and Teacup always were awful parents who hated me and never much liked each other. They married one-another for privilege and status: for power. I hate the thought of going back home: I hate the thought more of going back to North Neigh and them to look at me as if I finally succeeded at something, because I married you, Luna… not because I care about you, because you're the most-powerful creature in Equestria, if not the world." "Scrivy, can you go back to being a cynical jerk about everything? Because seriously, when you're smart and brooding, it really scares me." Twilight grimaced a bit, leaning back and shaking her head quickly as Luna looked silently towards her husband. The male, however, was looking moodily at the floor, still, and Twilight softened before she said quietly: "And you're nothing at all like them, Scrivener. You're a jerk, yes, and… selfish, whiny, frustrating, cynical, sarcastic…" "Wow, Twilight, all this flattery at once is going to make me blush so deeply I'm going to fall unconscious from all the blood rushing to my face." Scrivener said drolly, and the unicorn gave him a sour look before he smiled despite himself. "But thank you, all the same. I'm glad to know I'm a selfish, whiny, frustrating, cynical, sarcastic jerk. But I'm not like my parents at all." "Thy power of making a mockery of insults and compliments truly is something, Scrivener Blooms." Luna said dryly, and then she shook her head slowly before her eyes roved back towards Twilight with a bit of a smile. "Worry not, he understands. And if thou has faith in the knights, and Scrivener has faith enough in himself… let us canter ever onwards. 'Tis more than ample enough to reassure me between thee. But there are other subjects to attend to, and with greater speed and vivacity as well, so let us move to them with all haste." The other two nodded, and Luna nodded firmly as she looked back and forth before she grinned slightly, and Scrivy and Twilight both immediately glared at her, both knowing the winged unicorn well enough by now to predict her next words as she said cheerfully: "And perhaps after all is said and done, we may switch business for pleasure." Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story